Quote:
Originally Posted by The Unabomber
Good point Cowboy, the problem is that when you bring up something like the phone company, they have had a regulating body (CRTC) for years controlling the cost, TELUS and Bell couldn't adjust the prices if they wanted to. Why doesn't the government do this with gas? Probablt because the government is run by oil and gas so they don't want to piss them off.
Have a look at the design of ENCANA's building and ask yourelf if that's two building, unless you consider a plus 15 connecting two different buildings to be one, but then Calgary only has one office building downtown in that case. So tell me about being uninformed, what does it look like?
As for the theory of people driving more when gas is at a lower price, i drive where i need to when i need to regardless of the price, i assume most people are the same way. Gas gets burned probably at the same rate in the winter as the summer in Alberta, when i get into my car and it's -20 out i need to let it run for 15 minutes just to warm it up, as do most people. The oil-patch is at it's busiest during the winter, most of these people drive trucks and drive quite a distance each day, that doesn't happen nearly as much in the summer due to roads not being accesible from the spring thaw.
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Read my post again and your's about Encana's buildings. You said 'THE TWO tallest buildings west of Toronto' and I said 'ONE TALL' building the emphasis being TALL. The second building across connected by +15 is a small building (Which wouldn't even be considered one of Calgary's biggest). Nova Scotia has regulated gas prices in that oil companies can only raise or drop them once a week and they have to apply for it much like your Telus and Bell land line example to the CRTC (Yet NS has some of the most expensive gas in the country). Also Telus, Bell, and Rogers can charge whatever they want for wireless plans as opposed to the regulated land lines. Since 10% of people (myself included) don't have a land line, it isn't a necessity.
Going back to driving, you might decide to rethink vacation plans that involve driving for multiple days if gas were to cost a significant amount more. Also poorer people might decide to drive less as well with higher prices. You personally might be able to afford increases and thus you continue to consume the same amount, but to assume that 100% of consumption consists of people in exactly your boat is simply incorrect and just anecdotal. The many people on here 'habernac' included who mention alternatives to consume less gas and save money is evidence of that as well.